A Scandal-ous Conversation with Katie Lowes

After a shocking fall finale that saw Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) break up with Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) and abort a pregnancy, Scandal returns this week with an episode that promises to be equally explosive. Katie Lowes, a.k.a. Olivia’s badass gladiator Quinn Perkins, told us what to expect, and revealed a few personal secrets as well.

The Gloss: Scandal is back after a three-month break. What can we expect?

KL: When we come back Feb.11, we don’t pick up where we left off. There’s a time jump of a few months. The events of the winter finale were so huge that they were best dealt with by having some air and space around them, and it gives us a real chance to show how everyone has handled the decisions they made when you last saw us. Quinn is kicking ass and taking names. This is big. She’s really stepping into her big girl shoes at this point.

What do you love about her?

KL: I love her work ethic. I love her loyalty to Olivia. I love that she does things I would never do, like torture people. I love that she’s in a love triangle with two guys. She’s really tough. She’s really strong. She’s a badass. She’s tough as hell. I love it. We’ve seen her grow up a lot and grow into her own and be the woman that she is and you’re going to see that even more in the back end of the season.

Scandal is must-see TV for a lot of people. What are your favorite shows?

KL: I cannot wait for Game of Thrones. My husband has been watching Mr. Robot and I have to catch up. I’ve got to get to Transparent, Season 2. I only watched the first episode of UnREAL and have to watch more. I love Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer. I started watching You’re the Worst, and I love it, it’s great.

Do you like any reality shows?

KL: I’m in a Bachelor fantasy league. My husband is a fan of the show. He used to work in reality TV on a bunch of Mark Burnett shows; he helped to cast Survivor. I started watching it because of him, and I like watching it because it’s not work for me. When I turn on the television and watch shows that my friends are on or I know the creator or the writer it feels like work, but when I watch The Bachelor or The Voice my mind can really turn off because I don’t know the world or any of the people.

Your husband is also an actor–he played your late former boyfriend in season two of Scandal. What makes your relationship work?

KL: Communication is most important, being open to what is important to your spouse and realizing that if something is important to your spouse, it’s important to you too.

You have beautiful skin. What’s your secret?

KL: I get a facial every three weeks from Christina Radu. I have so much makeup on my face every day. I don’t know how everyone in Hollywood deals with aging but for me it’s a facial every three weeks.